McKenna v. Inslee: Gloves stay on in forum

Candidates Rob McKenna and Jay Inslee kept the gloves on at a Wednesday morning forum in Seattle, but their hour-long exchange did reveal that the Governor’s race is a choice between two very different styles of getting stuff done.

McKenna autographing a poster for a supporter.

McKenna, the Republican, is a policy guy who talks about the levers of government. He uses initials and acronyms, TIF (tax increment financing) and TDRs (trading development rights) and “leveraging private resources” to keep forests and farms from being turned into shopping malls.

Inslee, the Democrat, savors uplifting rhetoric and sound bites of his stump speech: He talks at every stop of driving a bulldozer when young. But specifics get such a soft focus that one is reminded of an old Elizabeth Taylor perfume commercial.

The two candidates were asked, for instance, whether they would maintain the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. The WWRP is a bipartisan creation (by ex-Govs. Dan Evans and Mike Lowry) that has protected key Washington wildlands, kept blue herons in their nests and provided for kids’ outdoor recreation.

Inslee

Inslee took a twisting path through state finances — “three isn’t a tooth fairy” — and went through his parents’ volunteer work restoring meadows at Mt. Rainier National Park.

“This is one of the closest things to my family and my heritage,” he said, adding a on the need to preserve land: “The Creator is not making any more dirt. It is a one-time thing.”

The forum was sponsored by FORTERRA, the former Cascade Land Conservancy, and the Washington state chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

At Inslee’s insistence, it was a forum with the candidates appearing separately to answer the same three questions from the moderator, and then briefly taking the stage together to respond to audience queries. The Democratic hopeful did well in a one-on-one debate earlier this month, but has dodged further “mano a mano” encounters.

The two candidates do disagree. McKenna came out strongly for charter schools, saying they are a way out for students trapped in subpar public schools. “It is a shame, in President Obama’s ‘Race to the Top,’ we came in near the bottom,” he said.

Inslee spoke in more general terms, but seemed to support removal of underachieving teachers from public school classrooms. “There are no excuses for teachers not performing,” he said.

Inslee is promising to stroke favored parts of the economy, with research and development tax credits for firms developing biofuels, and the pledge to develop “a clean energy economy to lead the world.”

“I don’t believe in picking winners and losers from government,” McKenna replied in his closing statement.

The question of a transportation package to upgrade the state’s creaky infrastructure brought out differences as well.

Inslee spoke of “a financial package that we need to propose when we build the trust of Washingtonians.” Will it include higher tax taxes, and tolls? “We need to look at every tool in the tool box,” Inslee added, but answered a followup by saying: “It is premature to talk of any of these tools.”

McKenna did not repeat a previous pledge to put a transportation measure before voters in 2013 or 2014. He did say a package will include a gas tax and tolling. He listed projects that need immediate doing, such as extending the S.R. 167 freeway to the Tacoma waterfront, and work on the long-proposed, much needed north-south freeway in Spokane.

“It is not waiting for a day when we have a hoped-for consensus,” said McKenna. “We need to do this.”

Both candidates steered clear of tax talk even while talking about urgent state needs.

“The reason we have fallen off a cliff in revenues is that we have 300,000 people out of work,” Inslee said. He has implied that the state’s coffers will be filled as the jobless find jobs.

McKenna is all about efficiency, improved performance and letting the private sector compete for workers compensation coverage. “If state government were a charity, you probably wouldn’t want to donate to it because costs and overhead are too high,” he said.